Well, I haven’t updated the ole’ website in a good while, and the reason is because I’m still making more rock and roll. The intention of this humble little corner of internet space was never to be a daily rock and roll blog, that happened more or less organically. The site was created to feature my music, and to that end, my album, which I’ve previewed extensively on this site, is nearly finished. The album in question, which I’ve named Funeral Business, is something I’m growing increasingly proud of. The album art, which the ever lovely Sonia Rapaport created, is the thing you’re looking at right above. Right now I’m collaborating on one last tune with Andrew Lee, and from there, the future promises to reflect the glimmering wonderfulness to be entailed within it. I’m planning a mini documentary movie in the coming weeks about the creation of the record, and a further reflection on my thoughts on rock and roll and what it means to me. Its a flourish of self centered activity that I find rather distasteful, but necessary to further spread the joy this music has brought to me. I want to thank all my friends and family who have helped me along the way here, and I also want to post this incredibly cool video someone made deconstructing the “Sgt. Pepper” song, because it goes against everything in my nature to provide an update without some music. This little video is really fascinating, breaking the song down into its component parts, giving you a sense of how the Beatles created their masterpieces. You will also be hypnotized by those groovy multicolored lines of sonic goodness. Enjoy.

The Kinks. I love them. I love Ray Davies, the writer of this song, “Autumn Almanac,” an absolute stunning piece of musical genius from 1967. A lot happened in 1967. It was the year when the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper to critical and international fame, when Jimi Hendrix was revolutionizing the use of the electric guitar, and when the world’s youth was dropping acid and dreaming of the future. Ray Davies was thinking of the past; of autumn days, his old school notebook, hiking in the woods, and Sunday dinners. There is no better writer of nostalgic pop then Ray, and this song is his shining anthem to that feeling. At his creative height, Ray challenged the Beatles in terms of melodic brilliance and was as good as Bob Dylan in creating emotive original lyrics. He was that good, and “Autumn Almanac” is one of his best songs and greatest examples of his powers. The song is a stream of consciousness, both lyrically, and melodically, but its not without coherence, form, and beauty. The song exists at the limit of creativity a person can achieve with an acoustic guitar writing in the pop song format. I hope you enjoy it.

In yesterdays post I alluded to how Dark Side of the Moon reminded me strongly of Abbey Road. I must not be the only one, because the image above is all over the internet. This leads to an interesting debate amongst music fans, mostly ardent Pink Floyd people, that claim that Pink Floyd is the spiritual successor to the Fab Four. Some go even further claiming that Pink Floyd’s dazzling studio mastery and reflections on more mature philosophical themes elevate them as a technically greater band then the Beatles. I’ll address the claims in reverse order. While its true that Pink Floyd was a massive commercial success in the 70s, among the top 3 bands in the decade, they are not the Beatles of the 70s. What Pink Floyd did was continue the Beatles psychedelic studio experimentation in the pop rock format, pushing its boundaries and increasing its sonic power. Like the Beatles, their best songs had strong melodies, beautiful harmonies, and precise arrangements. The difference is, Pink Floyd was a psychedelic folk band, while the Beatles were an ever expanding rock and roll outfit, encompassing a wide variety of styles and sensibilities. At their height, Pink Floyd reached a massive arena audience and influenced youth culture strongly with their detached nihilistic messages railing against a corrupt and oppressive system. At the Beatles height, they did all things Pink Floyd accomplished, times a factor of 100, plus creating the universe of youth culture that Pink Floyd successfully tapped into. Tracing back to the first argument, in which people claim that Pink Floyd are spiritual successors of the Beatles, it is true, but so was practically every other band that came after the Beatles. Pink Floyd were the best group that continued the Beatles perfect psychedelic folk experimentation heard on the White Album and copped the professionalism and thematic track linking the Beatles employed in creating Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road. It was just a few aspects of the Beatles that Pink Floyd carried on, not the whole bundle, but honestly, who could do everything the Beatles did? This is no knock on Pink Floyd, merely a comment on the truly extraordinary accomplishments the Beatles achieved. I’m sure most Pink Floyders would probably agree this because I’d be hard pressed to find a PF fan that didn’t like the Beatles. Those that disagree are just not being fair to history and are letting their Pink Floyd love cloud their objective judgement. Anyway, those are my opinions on the subject, and I have no problem with others thinking otherwise, its a fun debate. I have one more song today from Dark Side of the Moon, “Time.” “Time” is one of the best songs on the album, a sweeping collage of sound effects, guitar power, and haunting lyrics. It’s a philosophical song about wasting ones life presented as an angry rant. It’s almost a call to arms, and its fascinating. Enjoy.

The best discoveries are the ones you make by accident. Just yesterday, my roommate keyed me into letmewatchthis.ch, one of those movie streaming websites of dubious legality. It’s a pretty cool site with a lot of variety of stuff, but new and old. On a lark, I typed in “Beatles” in the search box, and I found something I’ve NEVER seen before. It was a BBC documentary on the making of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band produced in 1992, on the 25th anniversary of its historic 1967 release. This documentary, presented below in 6 parts, excited the hell out of me because it featured insights and interviews, I’ve NEVER seen before, and as an obsessive Beatle fan, I’ve seen nearly EVERYTHING. You’ll see incredible interviews with Paul, George, Ringo, George Martin, and even Brian Wilson, which is interesting because this was the record that caused him to have a mental break down. This is fantastic, and well, worth diving into on your July 4th holiday. Enjoy.

Part 1 – The Beatles had conquered the world, said they were bigger than Jesus, and quit playing live. You get to see the shameful Beatle record burnings, the riot in the Philippines, and the murky underside of Beatlemania. Fun fact I NEVER knew, when George went to India after the Beatles quit touring, Paul actually went to Kenya! Not too many African influences on Sgt. Pepper though…Oh, you also learn how Paul forced the other Beatles to go to work on the new record which gave the other guys a lot of anxiety.

Part 2 – George Martin breaks down the complex insanely awesome production it took to make Strawberry Fields Forever. Plus you get to see the proper Englishman who played the French Horn solo on Penny Lane! Also, Paul gives insight into how he was burned by John when he suggested calling their songwriting team McCartney/Lennon. Hah!

Part 3 – The album concept emerges, the making of the Sgt. Pepper song, and the making of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. This documentary is awesome because its punctuated with George Martin and Paul McCartney in the studio playing keyboards and breaking down the music theory behind the songs. Genius stuff. Oh, and John accidentally takes LSD in the studio and nearly jumps off the roof of Abbey Road studios.

Part 4 – We get insight in the fierce yet productive songwriting competition between John and Paul. George Martin incorrectly gives Paul all the credit for “With A Little Help From My Friends,” while Ringo saves himself from getting pelted by tomatoes. Lastly, you get immortally indispensable insight into the creation of “Within You Without You.”

Part 5 – Paul McCartney admits that Pet Sounds is the biggest influence on Sgt. Pepper. Plus we see poor Brian Wilson admit to how Sgt. Pepper blew him away so much that it made him insane. Phil Collins stops by and talks about another room. Also, we get to see the mythic Cork Flakes commercial that inspired John Lennon’s “Good Morning.”

Part 6- We meet Peter Blake, the designer of the cover, we learn how “A Day in the Life” was constructed, and we see George Martin nearly break down observing its gorgeousness. Ringo attributes his great drumming to be surrounded by 3 frustrated drummers who could only play one style really well. Paul gets the last word talking about how critics predicted the demise of the Beatles, secretly knowing that he was sitting on the masterpiece that was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

At last we’ve arrived at part 100 of my youtube favorites countdown. This is the final part of the countdown, and boy has it been a magical journey through some of my favorite songs and videos of all time. I had to end the countdown on the Beatles because it hurts my eyes when they don’t fall on #1 in any list predominantly about rock and roll. “All You Need is Love,” is a mysterious song. It was written specifically for the historic first worldwide satellite TV broadcast, “Our World,” and was watched by over 400 million people globally. The song is a mystery because there aren’t too many quotes from John Lennon about the inspiration and writing of the song, and the other Beatles and George Martin can’t seem to remember exactly where the song came from. The song wasn’t made for any album, and the recording of the track (save some overdubs) was mostly done in the live recording you see below. So you don’t have a bunch of takes and jam sessions in the vault that might give further insight into its creation. I have yet to hear a demo of John on his guitar or piano plunking out the song for the first time, which would simply be a marvelous thing if it exists somewhere. Anyway, this song is a Masterpiece, (note the capital M.) It’s one of the greatest slogans ever set to music and fantastic slice of artistic genius. It’s also just further evidence of the insane alien amount of productivity the Beatles were capable of. They had just finished Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, their timeless masterwork, and then a few weeks later, they unleash this masterstroke. They were an unstoppable force of magic, churning out record after record, with smash #1 singles (that weren’t on the LPs) dotting those releases. What’s further amazing is that nothing in their tumultuous personal lives slowed them down a bit. In 1967, John was a full blown drug addict; snorting cocaine, dropping acid every weekend, smoking pot everyday, and probably drinking heavily. His marriage was falling apart, he was having a massive identity crisis, he was jealous of Paul McCartney, and he was suffering a dark depression. None of that seemed to stop him from writing a song like, “All You Need is Love,” and then following it up with another track like the brilliant “I am the Walrus,” a few weeks after. No force, personal or global, could really stop the momentum the Beatles had built for themselves, and it all culminated in them being considered the greatest musicians of the 20th century. So the countdown ends, but the website doesn’t of course. From here on out, I’ll be focusing on writing more ambitious “proper essays” and articles on everything from music, politics, culture, and philosophy. So keep checking back, as I intend to make this one of the best websites you’ll ever read. Thank you so much.

As part 11 of my youtube favorites rolls on, we reach the slightly stranger section of my favorites list. From here on out you’re gonna see more odd videos like this “peppered” in with the more traditional music videos and performances. This is a video someone made of an original Sgt. Pepper vinyl’s inner groove. Now for those who don’t know, as a bit of a prank, the Beatles included a groove of hidden music at the very end of the vinyl, on side two, that would play on infinitely. Well, that is if you have an older record machine that didn’t reset the needle when it reached the end of the groove. Most people know this groove from their Sgt. Pepper CDs, which just include a snippet of the groove that lasts about 30 seconds. Perhaps the funniest thing about the groove is how the Beatles included a high pitched dog whistle that humans can’t hear, hoping to send the world’s canine population into a frenzy when the record ended. Anyway, the “music,” is a bizarre backwards abstract kaleidoscope of psychedelic noise. You can hear the Beatles shout something, but what? Well, if you play the groove forwards, it sounds like Paul is saying, “never could be any other way,” but played backwards, it sounds like, “We’ll fuck you like you’re Superman!” Hmm, legend has it the Beatles had no idea their groove blasted out such a hilarious message until Paul let some Beatle fans in his house where they proved it to him. Whether he made good on the promise presented in the groove is unclear.

Continuing the journey down my youtube favorites list, I give you the infamous “We Are the World.” This tune was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson sometime in 1985, as a response to the horrendous Ethiopian famine which killed over a million people. I guess it did some good as it raised between 50-60 million dollars according to Wikipedia, which is all well and good, but honestly, no one remembers the humanitarian crisis, but rather the image of all those super famous humans gathering in one room to belt out this piece of classic schmaltz. Now, from a distance, this song really sucks. Its cheesy, overwrought, and covered with a layer of outdated 80s glitter, but still, there is no denying the underlying charm of all these ultra-stars, and a few artists manage to give this thing some heat by the end. Here are a few random comments I have for you before enjoy the vid.

#2. Bruce Springsteen, you absolutely RULE the end of the song when you manage to hold your own with Stevie Wonder, but wouldn’t like you like a new take of your first line earlier in the song? You make this face in which you look like you were shot in the stomach. Although, I gotta hand it to him overall, this is the coolest look he ever had. He’s like a combination of Elvis, the Fonz, and Dean Martin. Man, what a rock star.

#3. We can all agree, this is Steve Perry’s greatest moment in music history. I think Journey is horrible, but what a soaring voice this guy has.

#4. This video marked the beginning of when Michael Jackson thought it was a good idea to basically dress up as the fifth member of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band…for the rest of his life.

#5. The story goes that Prince skipped out on the recording of this song for some ego bruised reason…which, ironically makes Prince the most genuine superstar out of this whole group. Why? Because Prince wasn’t about to pretend he didn’t have an ego, unlike every single one of these stars, who tried their damnedest to make you believe they were selfless.

#6. And lastly, Bob Dylan and his disciple Bruce Springsteen are dressed exactly the same. Must have been awkward…